Prayer House Shared Temple Opens Up Place Of Worship

The Rev. Dr. John Erbelding led the first service at his Anglican congregation`s new home. A curious sign hung overhead.

``Happy Hanukkah,`` it read.

But the Anglicans were not celebrating the Jewish holiday; they were having worship the Sunday before Christmas.

No matter. St. Luke the Evangelist Anglican Church is happy to deal with a few inconveniences because Temple Beth Orr at 2151 Riverside Drive in Coral Springs gave it a home when it had no other.

``The one I worship (Jesus) was a Jew, and the last place he preached was a synagogue. So it`s like coming home,`` said Erbelding, church pastor.

St. Luke`s has been conducting services at Temple Beth Orr since December, first in its sanctuary and now in its chapel. Each Sunday morning, worshipers set up a makeshift altar -- an unhinged door set on two sawhorses. A white tablecloth covers it. Confirmation class meets on Tuesday nights at the temple.

The church stores its religious items -- crosses and prayer books -- in a closet when services are not in session.

Other than that, St. Luke`s worships as most Anglican churches do on Sunday.

``It doesn`t feel any different,`` said Corbette Hunter, 53, a church member from Pompano Beach. ``Usually, you say your prayers and get it into your mind that it is an Anglican church.``

The partnership of an Anglican church at a Jewish temple is rare, but one the temple deemed necessary. About 20 years ago, the Jewish congregation in its infancy met at a Methodist church.

``That`s what good neighbors are for,`` said Rabbi Mark Gross, the temple`s spiritual leader. ``We`re delighted we could give them their first steps.``

The Anglicans sought out the temple because they could not afford the $300 weekly rent for worship at the nearby Church of the Cross, Erbelding said. Christian churches in Coral Springs offered free space, but not until their services ended about 12:30 or 1 p.m.

That was too late to attract most churchgoers. So Erbelding asked Gross whether his temple had room, and Gross provided the space for free until the Anglicans find another home.

St. Luke`s members seem to embrace their new place: Worship services average 60 to 70 people. In its first 100 days, the church signed up 106 members, Erbelding said. And both congregations are crossing bridges of faith.

At a teacher`s request, Erbelding gave a lesson on the Anglican church to a temple Sunday school class, answering questions about abortion and support of Israel. There also is talk of a pulpit swap between Gross and Erbelding, giving each a chance to preach to the other`s congregation.

A hand-written sign placed in a temple window for the church`s initial service in the chapel read: ``Welcome St. Luke`s.`` It has become a keepsake, a reminder of the kinship formed.

``You don`t throw stuff like that away,`` Erbelding said. ``It`s like baby shoes -- we would bronze it if we could.``